The Role of the State

The Stimulus Package Is Too Expensive and Poorly Targeted: The Waste Contained in the CARES Act

A cost-effective stimulus to mend the effects of a 24 percent drop in GDP would cost no more than $1.3 trillion over a 6-month...

America’s Broken Health Care System Is the Biggest Obstacle to Containing the Coronavirus

Over the past few weeks, it has become abundantly clear that the US health care system is uniquely ill-equipped to deal with a crisis...

The Covid-19 Bailout That Big Business Is Lobbying for Could Make America Unrecognizable

Supporting industries is necessary to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. But using the coronavirus as an excuse, Boeing and other companies are...

Elon Musk Wants to Get Paid. He Will Get His 2019 Bonus Thanks to an Accounting Magic

In March 2018, Tesla’s Board of Directors granted Musk a potential bonus of 20,264,042 stock option awards under a  plan that uses “adjusted EBITDA” as one...

Allowing Digital Platforms to Continue Picking the Winners and Losers of Our Economy Is Un-American

Antitrust law aims to stop established companies from shutting out competitors. We should revive enforcement against exclusionary conduct, as well as structurally eliminate the...

How US Regulators Allowed Google and Facebook to Become Dominant

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority recently criticized Google and Facebook's excessive market power. American regulators, on the other hand, have allowed them to consolidate...

Five Conditions for Corporations About to Receive Coronavirus Bailouts

Wall Street and the Federal Reserve are getting ready for massive bailouts, so here are the conditions to put on large corporations who need...

Many Republicans Are Skeptical About Coronavirus. Research Suggests That Republican Politicians Could Change That

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is skeptical of climate change, supports teaching creationism in public schools, and opposes stem cell research. That's exactly why...

Keeping Business Alive During the Coronavirus Crisis: Government as Buyer of Last Resort

The government has to compensate businesses and workers for their losses so that each business can re-emerge almost intact after the hibernation due to...

Bethany McLean’s Weekend Reading List: the Pandemic’s Long-Term Consequences

Corruption, lobbying, corporate malfeasance, and frauds: a weekly unconventional selection of must-read articles by investigative journalist Bethany McLean.      Of course, this weekend's list is mostly...

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